Charter Sailing Log - Double Play

Hurricane Andrew

Hurricane Andrew had just devastated the area on the night of August 24th, but our charter reservation could not be cancelled. The weather was clear, and the waters were reported to be clear of any debris from the hurricane, so we went even though we were more concerned with dealing with what had just happened.

Captain Ralph Baker was there to take us on our first "training" sail. The objective was to complete the first ASA Cruising course "Basic Keelboat Sailing", and build our general experience and confidence in handling the boat. With us was also Jean-Francois to help us with the kids. It worked real well. The kids were 6 and 8 years old at the time, and enjoyed it thoroughly. (Something to remember if you manage to find the right crew). This gave Isabelle and I the time to focus on learining how to sail the boat.

We left from the Florida Yacth Marina in Miami and sailed south through Biscayne Bay. There weren't many boats on the water and the devastation from Hurricane Andrew was real clear as we headed south. We could see Dinner Key Marina from a distance with sailboats and yatchs piled up on the shore. Stiltsville, a group of houses (and bars) on stilts in the flats south of Key Biscayne, were gone. Only piles could be seen. The trees all the way down Biscayne Bay were completely flattened or without leaves - very strange in the middle of the summer. Fortunately, we did not encounter any debris much to our surprise.

Crossing Featherbed Bank

We sailed south through Featherbed Bank down to Card Sound and there our ASA training began. Captain Baker taugth us how to trim the sails properly, tack, jibe, take a reef, and keep the boat moving at different angles of attack. (this involved going around in circles ! but we had lots of room to manoeuver and the bay to ourselves. In Card Sound we then took turns at completing "Man Over Board" exercises, throwing a buoy overboard and then recovering it after sailing a traditional "figure 8" back to the buoy. Winds were in the 10 to 15 knot range, with light chop in the bay. Our first night, we anchored off Pumpkin Key.

Next day, we motored through AngelFish Channel into Hawk Channel, which lies on the Atlantic side of the keys, so is less protected, and continued our sail training down to Rodriguez Key off Key Largo, where we anchored for the 2nd night.

Surfing the Gulf Stream

The 3rd day, with again some 10-15 knots of wind, our captain suggested we head out a few miles into the Gulf Stream and sail all the way to Miami taking advantage of the extra 3-4 knots of speed of the Gulf Stream. A quick muffin and cup of coffee (which I'll regret later), and we were off sailing east towards the break in the reef. The demarcation was clear. As soon as we crossed the reef, we started hitting 6' waves. We continued ENE a couple of miles then turned north in the Gulf Stream.

Isabelle and I took turns at the helm. The going was a little rough, and every once in a while, the waves would slam into the boat. By this time, the kids were getting a little "weak", and just laid back in the cockpit quietly. Jean-Francois did look good at all ! About this time, that early morning muffin started to disagree with all the motion ! and pretty soon I was lying flat out in the cockpit. A little earlier, Captain Baker had asked for the first time to take the helm (before this, only Isabelle and I were at the helm with Captain Baker only providing guidance). It was his first time sailing a cat in this kind of conditions, and he was loving it ! The minute he took over the helm, you could feel the boat quieting down. He would finesse it up and down the waves with such a skill, it was truly enjoyable to be out on the water.

Meanwhile with Captain Claude lying in the cockpit out of the action, Isabelle spent alot of time at the helm and sailed all the way back to Miami. In the end, I had regained some of my strength, so I took over the helm in time to bring the boat through Government Cut and into the marina.

I thought this was a good test if ever I was incapacited for any reason, Isabelle could continue sailing the boat, at least until we would get back to shelter. Not part of the ASA course, but a valid exercise nevertheless.

All in all, everyone enjoyed the trip, and we validated for ourselves that we could sail a 37' cat in the context of coastal cruising and would give us the confidence to bareboat cats of this size in the future. Captain Baker was great, leaving us do all the sailing and manoeuvering, offering guidance throughout, and taking us through key sailing drills.

CeBe WebDesign November 12, 2007